Can Venice Exit (VEXIT) the City of Los Angeles?

Left to right are moderator Hollie Stenson and panelists Mayor Fred Gaines of Calibasas; Joe Piasecki, managing editor of the Argonaut; and Marcus Ruiz Evans, President: Yes California Calexit.Left to right are panelists Jim Murez, Venice Neighborhood Council board member and local historian; Isaac Simpson, journalist; and Paul Novack, executive officer Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

Can Venice Exit (VEXIT) the City of Los Angeles was the question being addressed by the six-member panel Thursday evening at the Animo High School.

Moderator Hollie Stenson stated that “Venice is two percent of the Los Angeles tax base and yet has only .6 percent of the population. “So the questions are: Why wouldn’t Venice want to secede? Why would Los Angeles allow Venice to secede?

Novac of LAFTA spent time explaining each step involved in the various processes of exiting, but thru it all, it appeared that it could be a lost effort. Other cities have tried, costing themselves a lot of money, and failed.

Mark Ryavec, not a member of the panel, provided his remedy of the long, drawn out, costly process of exiting with unhappy results. He proposed that the citizens get the LA City Council to propose state legislation that would allow a city that had been a city to exit the jurisdiction of the city involved. Venice was once its own city but became a part of Los Angeles. San Pedro is the only other City fitting that criteria. Jim Murez brought up the point that LA would never release San Pedro because of the Port of Los Angeles.

Recent Comments

Rick Swinger { Listen Up! Pollution effects Everybody! Thats includes you Billy and me and the homeless etc. We are all in the same boat here. You don't have to have a degree in Biology to understand thats Rats have killed more people than any other rodent and we have lots of them... } – 2405 9:25 AM

Billy Bathgate { NIMBY is too polite a term for the likes of arrogant pretentious jerks like you. In fact there is no word for the likes of people like you that wouldn't be censored by the owner of this site so I'll just have to save it for if we ever meet... } – 2405 6:49 AM

{ Bonin was elected by the very people who live in other areas of CD 11 and who benefit by placing ALL of the adversity in Venice. That said, had Bonin proposed this "Home of the homeless" BS (as well as the stupid "road diet" during his re-election campaign, the people... } – 2305 10:03 AM

Billy Bathgate { Elections have consequences Kip. Your homeless hating candidate for City Council didn't win. And the people of Los Angeles voted to pony up and do something about getting the homeless of L.A. off the sidewalks and into housing. Now would be a good time for your side to shut up.... } – 2205 7:49 PM

Nick Antonicello { The only way to get out of the bureaucratic clutches of LA, Garcetti and Bonin is to support cityhood for Venice. Our own Mayor and Council directly elected by Venetians with a land use body with teeth that can restrict such impositions by the far larger LA. Does Garcetti or... } – 2205 11:36 AM

Billy Bathgate { Nothing wrong with me but there is definitely something wrong with all of you who do nothing but complain 24/7 about the homeless and then oppose every move to get them housed so they won't be homeless anymore. Iflily white Brentwood or Pacific Palisades is your idea of an ideal... } – 2105 3:20 PM

{ Billy, poor is poor - These folks are drunk, drugged and/or crazy. That is what makes them "poor." Once again, anyone who opposes the crap that is going on in Venice either hates the "poor" or is a "racist" for not wanting a dangerous and possibly contagious population of "travelers"... } – 2105 1:31 PM

Will { I think you said everything. Thanks for your support. } – 2105 1:08 PM

Publius { not gonna read your press release for yourself Hawkins; it's a calculated distraction, responds to nothing; you've intentionally missed opportunities to observe what others have now had to multiply document, and that documentation is as stunning as your WILLful (ignorance) Hawkins. You and do not merit a response to your... } – 2105 11:51 AM

Will { One cannot compare the work done by a faith-based group working full time with city funds with a bunch of elected volunteers working part time with community donations. The work done by the Venice Homeless Committee is unprecedented and has gone well beyond its duties to this community in housing... } – 2105 9:57 AM

{ I LOVE that they posted them. But these homeless folks will ignore them UNLESS they get arrested on a daily basis. LAPD needs to assert their power. Its a psychological game that the neighborhood and LAPD are starting to WIN against the homeless and their hypocritical "advocates" that don't live... } – 2105 9:21 AM